Mooi River was originally named Lawrenceville after the Irish farmer who formalized its settlement during the 1800's; the Village took its enduring name from the Voortrekker description of its River being beautiful! ( 'Mooi', which translates as 'pretty' in English) In Zulu, however, the River is Mpofana, 'Place of the Eland'. The countryside varies from Mountains in the West of the District towards Giants Castle, through rolling Hills and grassland to the thorn veld around Middelrus in the North-West. It is a well-watered landscape, most of it ideally suited to Agriculture!
Mooi River forms part of the popular Midlands Meander self-drive Arts and Crafts Route, while all around are opportunities for outdoor recreation. Prior arrangements can be made to visit one of the many prestigious racehorse studs and training establishments in the vicinity, or the Weston Agricultural College Museum which also houses British Military Artefacts. On 17 August 1914, the Weston Agricultural and Allied Trades School opened on its present site at Weston, with five pupils. Two weeks previously, World War One had broken out and immediately the growth of the new school was affected. After three years, numbers had increased to sixty and in 1925 the name was changed to Weston Farm Training School. At this time a two year course was introduced with an emphasis on practical agriculture. Back in Town, the Rhode House Museum presents a wide variety of local History exhibits depicting formative activities of the Area such as polo and dairy farming.
An important Village that has been incorporated gradually into Mooi River, is Rosetta. Rosetta was an integral part of the colonial farm-pioneering boom of the mid-to- late 1800's. In note book written by John Kirby, who came to the Mooi River Area in 1851, he speaks of teeming herds of game, amongst which were buffalo and lion. As time went by, the land slowly became occupied and the road to the North was developed. Originally, Weston was a Village that was the centre for transport riders with their ox wagons. Wet weather often delayed transport and at such times there were large gatherings of travelers, wagons, oxen, mules and servants. A post office was set up in 1854 and later the Lake Hotel. By 1866 there was sufficient demand for a Bridge to be built across the Mooi River. The Helen Bridge, was named after the daughter of Natal's Governor and Commander of the Imperial Troops, General J.J. Bissett-( Helen, who was noted for her beauty, married a son of Sir Theophilus Shepstone). Near the Helen Bridge are the ruins of the Lake Hotel which were destroyed by fire! This Bridge provides the necessary link between the Villages and surrounding Areas and it also assists the local communities by providing safe travel to all road users across the River. It encourages Economic development within the communities, easy access to Public transport, and improves access to emergency services such as ambulances and police stations. The Bridge also promotes pedestrian safety especially for school children, the elderly and the general public. It facilitates the safe transport of Agricultural goods, farm livestock and general amenities to neighbouring urban Towns. The Helen Bridge, about 3 kilometres downstream of Mooi River, is one of the oldest remaining Bridges in KZN. The Bridge was opened on 19 November 1866, by Colonel J.J. Bissett. The Bridge was on the main transport route upcountry to the Inland, at the time and is still in use! There was a Boer War remount Station at Weston and most traffic at the time would have passed over this important Bridge! The construction commenced in 2015 and was completed at the end of the 2016/2017 financial year, at a total cost budget of R 17.1 Million. The project created 48 job opportunities.
Surrounded by modern smallholdings, the Rosetta Village Centre today features Crispin's Corner, a small shopping centre where - in addition to locally produced handicrafts History buffs may find that significant piece in its antique shop!

The World's oldest known mattress has been unearthed in South Africa, in a Cave in KZN! Made of plant material and dated up to 77,000 years ago—50,000 years earlier than previous evidence for human bedding. These early mattresses apparently were even specially prepared to be resistant to mosquitoes and other insects! Early members of our species, Homo sapiens, were nomads who made their living by hunting and gathering. Yet they often created temporary base camps where they cooked food and spent the night. One of the best studied of these camps is Sibudu Cave, a rock shelter in a cliff face above South Africa's Tongati River, about 40 Kilometres north of Durban. Sibudu was first occupied by modern humans at least 77,000 years ago and continued to serve as a favored gathering place over the following 40,000 years. Since 1998, a team led by Lyn Wadley, an archaeologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, has been excavating at Sibudu, uncovering evidence for complex behaviors, including the earliest known use of bows and arrows. "What we have is evidence of plant bedding that is 50,000 years older than any previous site anywhere in the world," said study leader Lyn Wadley. Over the past several Years, the team has found that many of the Archaeological layers featured large, 1-centimetre thick swaths of plant remains, including the remnants of both stems and leaves. Most of them cover at least three square meters. The team suspected that these swaths were the remains of bedding, but the earliest previous evidence for sleeping mats is only between 20,000 and 30,000 years old, at sites in Spain, South Africa, and Israel, where similar but more fragmentary arrangements of plant remains have been found. Measuring up to 22 square feet (2 square meters), the beds were also large enough to accommodate a whole family. For modern hunter-gatherers, such as the Inuit and Kalahari Bushmen, "the idea of just one or two people sleeping on a bed is unknown," she noted.

Botshabelo, which means 'place of refuge', is the largest Township in the Free State and, after Soweto, the largest in the Country. Botshabelo and Thaba'Nchu are known collectively as the Thabelo Area. People originally moved there in search of work, when they left their rural homes in the Free State to move closer to Thaba'Nchu (a homeland). Botshabelo was reserved exclusively, at the time, for the Tswana people (interestingly the largest group of people originally from Botswana to live in South Africa, whose language is Tswana). Thaba Nachu, which was settled as early as the 1830's, was something of an enclave of Bophutatswana as a result of Apartheid and today remains governed by His Majesty Chief Albert Moroka, responsible for civil matters and judge of the tribal court.

Botshabelo Mission Station can be found in Middelburg in the Mpumalanga Province. Originally a place of refuge for Christians, Botshabelo Mission Station grew into an important and rather influential centre where the Gospel was widely proclaimed among the black people. It became a place where both black and white people received education and training and even where commerce and industry were practiced. Established in 1865. No longer an active Mission Station, there are two Churches of Historical value. Two young German missionaries, named Alexander Merensky and Heinrich Grützner, arrived in South Africa from the Berlin Mission Society during the 1860’s, to spread the gospel among the Zulu nation. They bought a farm in the Olifants River Valley near Middelburg and soon established a Mission Station named Botshabelo, meaning ‘Place of Refuge or sanctuary‘. In order to protect the Settlement a Fort was also built called Fort Wilhelm. Soon, a small Town developed around the Mission and even included a 2300 ha Nature Reserve. Initially Merensky built a Home for himself and his followers. The refugees fleeing from Chief Sekukhuni, of Swaziland under the leadership of one of his brothers, Johannes Dinkwanjane, also arrived at Botshabelo. A brick house was erected as a parsonage. Merensky had also begun constructing a stone fort as protection against attacks from Chief Sekukhuni who wished to subdue his brother to his authority. The Fort was named Fort Wilhelm after the German Emperor and is unique blend of Western and Sotho Architecture. A Church was built in 1868 using a total of 300,000 bricks that were made locally. The Church was later extended into a cross formation which can still be seen!
Botshabelo was largely self-sufficient and expanded rapidly. In 1873 there were 1,315 inhabitants. Botshabelo had its own general dealer shop, a large mill a small distance away, run by a full time miller, fields with furrows, a bookbindery and a blacksmith shop. A School was built and the first Building is still known as the Practice school. At the beginning of the 20th Century, a large School was built which served as a Training College, until 1979.
It was at Botshabelo that the missionary R.F Güstav Trumpelmann, with the invaluable assistance of his erstwhile student, Abraham Serote, translated the bible in Sepedi (North Sotho). The publication in 1904 by the British and Foreign Bible Society of this combined effort was the first complete Bible in an indigenous language.
The Botshabelo Mission Station also incorporates an Ndebele Village. This Village comprises of an open-air Museum established to successfully preserve the interesting tribal Culture. This well known tribe is famous for its colourful Huts, cultural garb and brilliant arts and crafts. Stores selling their fascinating arts and crafts can be visited!
The Botshabelo Mission Station boasts true historical value, a beautiful little church and many old Buildings. Today, this Mission Station is a Museum. The entire Area is a Site Museum and has plenty to offer interested Tourists, hikers as well as Historians. Tours throughout the Mission Station are available and should be taken for those wishing to ask questions and learn more of the station!
Hiking Trails have been developed in the area to afford visitors the opportunity to learn more of this intriguing area. A visit to the spectacular nature reserve is also a must where bird watching and game viewing can be enjoyed. Unfortunately, the Botshebelo Mission Station, according to the 'City Press' article on the 11 of July 2016: says "It was a cold Tuesday in late June when I visited the historical group of about 80 buildings. The Botshabelo site – which once drew up to 2 000 tourists a day (according to Middelburg Observer) – stood empty, the doors of its many missionary buildings were bolted shut, trees growing through the steps, walls crumbling. Its architecturally valuable 18th century Lutheran church, once the biggest South of the Orange River and boasting yellowwood benches and stained glass windows, is falling apart. Half of the roof has collapsed on to the Altar."